Guest Post | Our Big Fat Quirky Musical Wedding

Hello dear ones. I hope you had a wonderful memorial day weekend with your friends and family! I am sort of still vacationing in my mind.Today we have a fantastic guest post contributed by Vicky Woods, on behalf of Personalised Wedding Gifts. Vicky is a freelance writer and wedding enthusiast. She enjoys writing about her personal experiences. Her choices for her wedding music were definitely unique, and may inspire some of you to think outside of the box. We’re happy to have her today!

Some weddings are a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll, but our wedding was a little bit classical and a little bit funky. We took a chance to incorporate some unusual entertainment that would make our event both memorable and fun for our guests. We invited a cellist to supply the music that was based on a playlist that ranged between Etta James and Michael Jackson; it turned out so fantabulous that we dubbed it our Big Fat Quirky Musical Wedding and it might just prove inspirational to other couples looking for an unusual and delightful way to entertain their wedding guests.

My husband-to-be and I loved the idea of mixing up the expected wedding music format; we found that opposites truly do pair well. After all, I’m a city girl and he’s from the country. We knew we wanted a lot of modern music to be played at our wedding and plenty of songs that would appeal to a range of ages and tastes. We also knew we wanted live music, but not a rowdy or boisterous band. So, we decided to hire a cellist and the rest is family history.

If you’ve never heard Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” played on a classical stringed instrument, you don’t know what you’re missing! Our cellist was so versatile; he got down right funky when he let this one roll and the crowd simply loved it. He thrilled my husband and I by playing “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz, a song with magical powers; it was the only song—and we had to sing it every night—that could get our daughter to go to sleep. The cellist’s rendition of “Turnip Greens” by Billy Currington was a great party highlight as it signified my urban background and my husband’s country upbringing. “At Last” by Etta James and several Miles Davis tunes were show-stoppers and our cellist really knew how to play to the crowd!

While the beautiful cello music was timeless and romantic, the quirky song choices added a celebratory dimension to the entertainment. Guests were simply speechless when the cellist wowed everyone with a Nirvana song and everyone danced to “Jailhouse Rock” by the King and “Twist and Shout” by the Beatles. Our guests sang the lyrics as they danced the night away. Sure, we could have gotten a DJ or a 6-piece band, but we found a cellist that could entertain just as well and provide one-of-a-kind entertainment that made our event quite special in an extraordinary way.

Don’t know a cellist? How about a pianist? In either case, you might check with the music department of your local college or community college; these places typically keep tabs on local performers in the area. Depending on your budget, you could even check with a nearby symphony or performing arts center. As with any entertainment, get to know the performer so you can be sure you’re hiring the right performer for your wedding. Be sure to hire a dynamic performer that can play the serious music for the ceremony as well as the fun stuff. With a little ingenuity and your own signature style, you can have a big fat quirky musical wedding, too.